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Prestige property starts to nickel and dime

If its your first visit to the Cloister you will love it. However, long term guests regret policies instituted by new management. The room rates here have always been high, but the quality of the resort and the gracious servce justified these prices. Annoyingly, the new management has instituted a range of new charges that seem petty and are frankly annoying. A new charge for valet parking; new, nondisclosed "resort fees". In the past, staff were well compensated and there was a policy of no tipping. That has ended. And, again, if you are visiting for the first time, you will simply accept that this is how it is done most places. But the Cloister was never "most places". Regrettably, it has lost its unique Southern charm and could just be a Ritz, or Broadmoor on the beach. One other concern: it took months to have our final billing corrected. Hopefully, that is a temporary issue and the new management will get sorted.More

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Date of stay: August 2017

Trip type: Travelled with family

Value

Rooms

Service

Ask rokko193 about The Cloister at Sea Island

6 Thank rokko193

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC

ScottSteilen, other at The Cloister at Sea Island, responded to this reviewResponded January 26, 2018

Thank you for taking the time to post your comments and, more importantly, for being a long term guest. Our goal of providing warm, Southern hospitality has not changed. It is concerning that your recent visit felt different in that regard than in the past. I do hope you come to see us again soon.

Scott Steilen, President and CEO

Report response as inappropriateThank you. We appreciate your input.

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC

All reviews georgian room beach club main building southern tide adult pool river bar five star resort shooting school fitness center four seasons horseback riding southern charm turn down service colt alison old world one bedroom suite beautiful property

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My husband and I stayed at the resort from December 26-29th 2017. We experienced multiple issues with our room and were extremely disappointed. When we first arrived and checked into our room (which was a handicap room, the front desk person neglected to inform us of this) we noticed that our refrigerator did not work and had to contact maintenance to fix (which they did immediately).

Later that night, as my husband and I crawled into bed, the ceiling in our room started leaking. It took us forever to fall asleep listening to the drip drip drip drip all night long!(I took video of the ceiling leak but unfortunately I am unable to upload video on TripAdvisor). We contacted the front desk that night and requested Engineering/Maintenance to come and repair the leak in the morning. We were exhausted and didn’t want to hassle with trying to move rooms in the middle of the night. The front desk person scheduled Engineering/Maintenance to repaired the leak while we were playing golf the next day. When we arrived back to our room after golf, Engineering/Maintenance made the repair but they left the ceiling open, exposing all the pipes (which was not a pleasant sight). We thought perhaps the repair was not completed and that Engineering/Maintenance would come back to address. They never came back and on the third day of our stay we had to call the front desk to have the exposed pipes addressed.

We thought that our room maintenance issues were behind us after the leak, but unfortunately the next day we realized why our room seemed cold, especially in the early morning. There was a large draft of cold air coming from the patio doors to our room. The patio doors were missing the lock the pushes into the ground between the joint doors securing them properly (the doors were pushed out a few inches from the door threshold). Again, we called Engineering/Maintenance and had the repair made.

When we checked out at the front desk, nothing was done or said to us regarding the room issues we experienced. I would have expected an apology at a minimum. Poor service and no accountability for not meeting basic expectations.

Date of stay: December 2017

Trip type: Travelled as a couple

Ask copie202 about The Cloister at Sea Island

10 Thank copie202

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC

ScottSteilen, other at The Cloister at Sea Island, responded to this reviewResponded January 26, 2018

Please accept my apology for the situation you encountered in your room and for the lack of communication between our departments. It is far from the type of experience we aim to provide for every guest. So while my apology is belated, it is nonetheless heartfelt. We hope you’ll stay with us again, to have a visit which is much more in keeping with our standards.

Scott Steilen, President and CEO

Report response as inappropriateThank you. We appreciate your input.

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC

The Cloister is a great place for an upscale family vacation with plenty for the children to do. However, it's customer service is what really sets it apart. Our family recently had a travel interruption during our visit over New Year's. Melissa in Guest Services quickly rectified the situation and resolved our issue. At Sea Island, they always put the customer first and strive to assure that their guests have a positive experience-- no matter what the circumstances.

Date of stay: December 2017

Trip type: Travelled with family

Location

Cleanliness

Service

Ask jes9922 about The Cloister at Sea Island

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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC

Beautiful place that is well maintained. The staff take a lot of pride in the place and in their jobs. They offer a level of service that is rarely seen these days. Our room was magnificent but we didn't get the king sized bed that we had asked for. The bathroom was huge and beautiful. I look forward to returning there some day.

Date of stay: November 2017

Trip type: Travelled solo

Value

Cleanliness

Service

Ask DouglasGRamsey about The Cloister at Sea Island

Thank DouglasGRamsey

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC

ScottSteilen, other at The Cloister at Sea Island, responded to this reviewResponded January 26, 2018

How nice to see that you enjoyed your visit so much. I am sorry that we were not able to accommodate your request for a king sized bed, but glad to see you plan to return. We look forward to having you with us again.

Scott Steilen, President and CEO

Report response as inappropriateThank you. We appreciate your input.

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC

My husband and I stayed 3 nights at Sea Island right before the Christmas holiday. This was our first time at the resort and we fell in love with it in an instant. We have stayed several times at the sister property, The Broadmoor, and thus arrived to Sea Island with high expectations.

The property and its grounds are absolutely gorgeous, clean, and well maintained. One can really feel that much of investment has been put into the up-keep of the resort.

What I found so impressive is the fact that each employee that we had an opportunity to talk to has worked at Sea Island for years and years (one bellman that we met has been there for forty years). I think this is a sign of a great employer!

The spa is absolutely wonderful – the best spa we have ever visited. I appreciate the fact that there is a common area open to men and women, which gave me and my husband an opportunity to relax next to each other. One should definitely dedicate at least half of their day to spend at the spa as it has so many amenities available. I booked a facial and Dotti, the esthetician, was so kind, wonderful, and professional – I highly recommend her!

We spent every day hanging out at the bar at Southern Tide (outside and inside) as we really enjoyed the atmosphere, the views of the ocean, and well-made mixed drinks from the menu and even some that one of the bartenders, Dimitrius, created for us.

Our dinner at the Oak Room was delicious and we had the best steak (filet mignon) at Colt & Allison restaurant (I highly recommend paying the extra $5 for the Steak “Au Poivre” sauce added to the steak tableside). The Caesar salad and banana foster, both prepared tableside, were also quite delicious at Colt & Allison.

Our best dining experience was at the Georgian Room. We booked the Chef’s Table and this was, hands down, one of our best times at Sea Island. As part of the Chef’s Table, we were seated in a small private room in the kitchen that had a clear window overlooking the kitchen. Additionally, there was a TV screen and we were able to control the camera located in the kitchen to zoom in and out on everything we wanted to see. For example, we were able to see our ticket with our last name on it. We received 8-course meal, which was quite delicious and presented unbelievably beautiful (especially the desserts). The service of each and every employee that attended to us (and there were many) was excellent! One even brought me a shawl, in case I got cold. We were invited to walk around the kitchen and talked to a few inidviduals who explained how the kitchen works. We found it very impressive that almost everybody who works in the kitchen of this 5-star restaurant is less than 32 years old (if we remember correctly). This was certainly an experience that we will never forget and well worth the price!

We enjoyed the quietness of this resort during their off season and although it was little chilly during a few days, we were able to enjoy the Beach Club’s amenities, to include the pools, hot tub, and beach chairs on the beach (which we had all to ourselves). I cannot imagine how hectic and full it must get during the summer season.

We took advantage of taking the complimentary BWM cars for a drive to St. Simmons on more than one occasion to explore that area as well as to grab some lunch off the property. We also rented a golf cart and took it for a spin down Sea Island Drive and Forest Road and admired all the beautiful homes. The valet parked our golf cart in front of The Cloister and it was waiting for us whenever we needed it again.

Our rate included a breakfast - in room dining or in one of the restaurants and we enjoyed doing both. The breakfast buffet in Tavola was reasonably priced and offered everything that we were hungry for and then some. We also enjoyed the nice views of the river.

I do wish we had more time to spend at Sea Island as there were a few restaurants and activities that we did not get to visit and enjoy. We will definitely return and we cannot wait!

Date of stay: December 2017

Trip type: Travelled as a couple

Value

Sleep Quality

Service

Ask luciez29 about The Cloister at Sea Island

1 Thank luciez29

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC

We celebrated my mother-in-law's 90th birthday with a group of 7 of us. The service was superb! The staff all knew our names and that she was celebrating a birthday and made her feel so special. We used the spa services and shooting school both of which were excellent. The spa is amazing, absolutely beautiful, spotlessly clean, relaxing and has a very knowledgable and skilled staff. The best I have ever been to. The food throughout exceeded expectations, particularly the Georgian Room which was an eating experience with probably the best service I have ever experienced and I have travelled extensively. Excellent all around!!!

Date of stay: December 2017

Trip type: Travelled with family

Value

Rooms

Service

Ask amandaeL4566YF about The Cloister at Sea Island

1 Thank amandaeL4566YF

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC